Montefiore Home for Chronic Invalids
The sanatorium afforded medical treatment, food, and shelter to those unfortunates who, by reason of the incurability of their diseases, were refused admission in hospitals and asylums.
[1][2][3] The organization also managed the Montefiore Home Country Sanitarium in Bedford Hills, Westchester County, New York, where it sent patients who were fit for a more active environment.
Out of these meetings, held in the rooms of Congregation Shearith Israel, the Montefiore Home for Chronic Invalids was established in Manhattan at East 84th Street.
[1] After growing out of its original building, a new hospital was built in 1887 and the move uptown to Broadway and West 138th Street occurred in the following year.
It was primarily intended for those who are poor but were not suitable for treatment in hospitals owing to the chronic nature of their ailments.
Some who recovered their ability to work left of their own accord, or were (if men) sent to the Montefiore Home Country Sanitarium in Bedford Hills, Westchester County, New York.
The home itself was of red brick and granite in Italian style with a central block and two projecting wings, which together enclosed an open courtyard.
In the rear between the two wings were the kitchen and laundry, the dining room for 300 being over them, and accessible from the main hall in the center building.
Schiff announced that in addition to the present new buildings in the process of erection, subscriptions to the amount of US$200,000 had been secured for the erection of a pay pavilion, to accommodate such patients whose means did not allow them to secure nurse's attention at home, but could afford to pay a small amount for their care in an institution.
A number of very large buildings were placed in a comparatively restricted area without a semblance of congestion apparent in any part.
This is an economic and convenient arrangement and the enclosed corridors make it comfortable for the patients who are not confined to their rooms to move about during inclement weather.
The deck roofs of the corridors provide opportunities for the patients' outdoor exercise in pleasant weather.
[7] The pavilion for the tuberculosis patients is entirely separate from the remainder of the group save for a connecting corridor for service.
This building has a long southern frontage with very large windows opening onto balconies at each of the two floors extending on either side of the central pavilion to the end wings.
The bedrooms and wards occupy the entire southern exposure, the north being utilized by bathrooms, service rooms, and the main corridor.
[7] The buildings throughout are constructed of reinforced concrete columns and girders filled in with vitrified terracotta blocks above grade.
[7] The buildings are simply designed brick structures with the decorative features confined to the cornices, belt courses, and window lintels, with the exception of the administration building, which is given a lighter and more graceful appearance by its proportions and the use of finely modeled terra cotta for its decorative detail.
They indicate in an effective manner the versatility of terra cotta for fine decorative purposes and show its special aptitude for reproducing the conceptions of the sculptor and modeler.
